Posted on 05/20/2002 4:01:35 PM PDT by crystalk
Arutz Sheva IsraelNationalNews.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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When the High Court Welcomes Messianic Jews by S. Alfassa Marks May 14, 2002
On February 20, 2002, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that the Interior Ministry must register as Jews those who were converted by the Reform or Conservative movements in Israel or abroad. This ruling has not only set in motion a wave which will flood Israel with non-Jews who actually think they are Jews, but has opened the flood gates to the proselytizing Christians. The Christian sect deceitfully calling itself ‘messianic Judaism’ is gaining incredible momentum and educating its members as to how to make aliyah.
Certain branches of Evangelical Christianity have spent over one billion dollars in the last decade to convert Jews to Christianity. Under the guise of ‘Jews for Jesus’ and ‘Hebrew Christians,’ a new threat of spiritual terrorism has emerged in the form of ‘messianic congregations,’ whose theological tenets are identical to the Christian fundamentalists who created them. Their ultimate goal is the eradication of the Jewish people through assimilation to Christianity.
Since the late 1950’s Eretz Israel has had a small population of evangelical Christians, as well as its share of Jewish converts to Christianity. Today, the latter call themselves ‘messianic Jews,’ but don’t let the term fool you — they are not Jewish. This is probably the only fact that both Maimonides and the secular Israeli Supreme court agree on. According to the Court, Christian converts from Judaism are no longer Jews under the ‘Law of Return,’ which deals primarily with Jewish immigration. Though the law is in effect, it is not one hundred percent effective. Christians under this ambiguous term ‘messianic Jews’ are in an active campaign to circumvent these regulations, with the end objective of making aliyah.
The ‘messianics’ have the specific intent of being accepted as Jews in Israel. So much so that they have developed a political action group that lobbies the government, even using Holocaust survivors that have converted to Christianity as spokespersons. These people have a highly strategic plan, are well financed by mainstream Christian groups and have a single goal, to remove Jews from following the faith of their ancestors. Calling it a “significant breakthrough,” messianic Judaism has been officially recognized by the Registrar of Non-Profit Societies, which is a department within Israel’s Ministry of Interior. There you will find this Christian group with an official sounding name Vaad Poala Lma’an Yahadut Meshichit (Action Committee for Messianic Judaism).
According to Yad L'achim (an Israeli anti-missionary organization) there are over 5,000 converts from Judaism in over 38 different groups. Just over a month ago, a Christian newspaper wrote an article about how Christians pretending to be Jews are on duty in the IDF and are ‘witnessing’ to Jewish soldiers about Jesus. The same newspaper talks about Jews in Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, who have all now adopted Christianity as their religion. These people have congregations in Israel where they worship their god and continually proselytize other Jews — with some measure of success.
Generally speaking, ‘messianics’ are Jews who have converted and worship Jesus (whom they call Yeshua). However, not all of these messianics are Jews from birth. There are many ‘messianic rabbis’ who are ‘converting’ Christians to Judaism, so these Christians can go missionize to ‘other Jews’ about Jesus. The messianics are also cranking out ‘Jewish Rabbis’ and ‘scholars’ with ‘Master of Theology in Rabbinical Studies’ degrees via the Internet. Anyone can get one. Simply pay the required few thousand dollars and they will send you the study from home material. When you are finished, then you too can convert Christians to ‘Judaism.’
By suggesting that messianics make aliyah from the West, their Christian backers are attempting to expand their influence and make further inroads into Israeli society. In Israel, they can integrate into society and, with a stealth approach, encroach on the Jewish populace. In America, these Christians even fill a few seats at many orthodox congregations. A few years ago, there was a notorious case of two Christians who were stopped from making aliyah after having spent at least a year living as orthodox Jews. Just recently, a Chabad House in Florida removed a Christian who had been there for several months deceiving the community into believing that he was a Jew. Why are they in our congregations? Because they want to appear to be Jews so that they can ultimately make aliyah and continue proselytizing inside Israel. Once they are armed with basic Jewish knowledge, they attempt to infiltrate genuine Jewish communities, spreading inaccurate and intentionally deceiving lessons from the Torah.
The lines are indeed blurring on who is a Jew, and who is not. ---------------------------------- S. Alfassa Marks is the Founder of the Judaic Alert News Service, which tracks the progress and activities of groups posing as authentic Jews. He is also a columnist for the Heritage, the Jewish newspaper of central Florida.
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-- Too much tendency to imagine that EVEN TODAY, somehow Christians were better off than Jews and were in a position to offer them money and rewards for converting, or for that matter would have any interest specifically in JEWS converting, rather than merely in saving any lost souls regardless of ethnicity...
That said, I will very quickly point out errors of fact for those who may not be familiar with the subject.
a. The ruling of Israel's supreme court allows more or less free immigration to Israel by persons who have converted TO Judaism, but under the auspices of Reform or Conservative rather than Orthodox, rabbis. I cannot see how it affects persons who are Christian, even if they once were Jews.
b. There is no "Christian sect" calling itself Messianic Judaism. What exist are about 60,000 individuals in the world, so I hear, and about 100 congregations all independent of each other, which have the most various and different belief, practice, and ethnic composition-- and are constantly arguing with each other.
c. The total annual budget for missions of all the non-Catholic, non-Orthodox, churches in the USA is about one billion dollars. For his statement to be true, a tenth of that would have to be devoted to evangelizing of Jews. I doubt that ANY of it is so targeted, I have never heard that any was, in any church I ever attended. Most goes to Africa or other third-world aid and areas.
d. I am aware of a few congregations--and quite a few individuals, who call themselves "Messianic Jews" even though they precisely are evangelical Protestants, even dispensationalists, in every belief and practice, so he is right in saying that such do exist. Just a few Hebrew words and trappings. But there are also many other congregations and individuals, that differ quite sharply with Christians, evangelical or not, and have moved their belief and practice way, way, over toward Judaism, observing Shabbat, kosher laws, Torah scrolls, and several dozen other differences with ANY other or earlier existing forms of Christianity, at least since the first few centuries of this era...[I will add other posts later if I feel my other comments are useful]...
So in other words, Karl Marx could make aliyah, but the Apostle Paul could not. Brilliant. Open the door to Noam Chomsky and Bernardine Dohrn, but close it to Jews who believe that Jesus was the Messiah.
What about Jewish New Agers, Jewish agnostics, or Jewish atheists? When does one stop being a Jew because of what they believe?
http://grog260.tripod.com/pearl.html
f. While he says these people, whatever their number, "worship THEIR god," he fails to say that is YHWH, Ha-Shem, the same god as Israel has. As to whether they proselytize, I am sure some do quite actively, but most don't, and that is their own individual activity. Nobody out here somewhere is paying them to do it!
These people have a highly strategic plan, are well financed by mainstream Christian groups and have a single goal, to remove Jews from following the faith of their ancestors.
The above from the article rubs me the wrong way. It is how one would talk about a malicious organization. Yeshua Ha Meshiach (sp) is the God of their ancestors. One is certainly no less Jewish by Believing in Jesus!
h. He says there are unqualified, and perhaps even non-Jewish, persons who are claiming to be able to convert persons TO Judaism, or even make them rabbis (give out "shlita" credentials certifying them as rabbis??) I had not heard of this, if this is happening it is an ordinary common-law fraud and ought to be stopped.
I have heard of this, and even met guys who had done or were doing this, but this is the first time I ever heard there was anything sneaky or dishonest about it.
As I understand it, a qualified military man, or sometimes just a healthy volunteer of approp age and type, is perfectly free to enlist in the IDF regardless of his being a Christian or of no faith, or a Druze or maybe even a Muslim!!! This is news to me, I do not think one has EVER had to be a Jew halakhically, or even be a part-Jew, or a non-Christian, to quite openly serve in the IDF...and yes, I understand that might lead to one's being able to become an Israeli citizen, I suppose, if Israel laws were like those of many other countries, but why is this so horrid and wrong?
I would think anyone who would do that would be welcomed with open arms, how better could one demonstrate one's affinity with that country, more affinity than many a Jew in the USA would have...
My Hebrew is extremely rough. Could you define halakhically for me.
aliyah
When does one stop being a Jew because of what they believe?
Jesus = aliyah reject.
The mind does boggle, doesn't it? That would certainly be a very major sacrifice of safety, freedom, money, and a thousand other things, to take on such a burden, a burdensome stone Jerusalem is, to all who concern themselves with it, says Zechariah.
Surely anyone who would do such a thing, ought right there to be made a Jew legally after (say) 5 years of service, ...sheesh! That makes circumcision look like NOTHING, as a proof of one's sincerity as a convert TO Judaism.
Throughout the article, I find it difficult to decide whether what he hates, is for Jews to become Christians, or for Christians to become Jews, or for Christians to stay in Israel for extended times or serve in her armed forces.
I guess he just doesn't like ANY of those things, but all of that looks just like xenophobia and bigotry to me. Christians and Jews live together at each other's elbows, and as often as not MARRY each other, feed each other's dog when they are away on vacation... We are kissing cousins, get used to it...
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